Chato in an overflow???

Shane and John · Mar 12, 2009

I was curious if anyone puts Chato in their overflow?On my 120 i have a single overflow in the corner...its kind of wasted space..I see life in there and coraline is growing great...Would it be a bad idea to place a clump near the bottom?I have some in my sump but to me it seems like its growing pretty slow there.....Any input would be great...thanks guys..Shane

estanoche · Mar 12, 2009

I think it would be too much flow. I used to keep some in my sump on my old tank but the flow was probably 500 gph through where I kept the chaeto.. All it did was slowly melt away, never grew.

I'm sure the professionals know, but I believe chaeto needs some slower water to allow it time to grab the nutrients from the water before it passes by.

returnofsid · Mar 12, 2009

Actually, there's a lot of articles that say Chaeto needs more flow than most of us give it. From what I've read, it really needs to be in a flow pattern that keeps the "ball" tumbling or rolling. The problem is, that's kind of hard to achieve, at least for me...lol.

IMO, putting it in an overflow could create problems if it started to plug up anything. Also, in an overflow, it might not get the lighting that it needs.

Shane and John · Mar 12, 2009

Thats what i Need is input...Thanks for yours..

returnofsid · Mar 12, 2009

I have had Chaeto start growing in my CPR HOB overflow box. It grew fairly quickly. It was actually just the other day that I noticed the water level in my display tank was slightly high. Then I noticed that the overflow box had A LOT of chaeto in it. I removed it and noticed an immediate difference in my display water level. The Chaeto had actually inhibited the water flow through the overflow box to the point where it couldn't keep up with my return pump. Kinda makes one nervous....lol.

Shane and John · Mar 12, 2009

that was one thing that i had thought about!

vwmoneypit · Mar 12, 2009

mike i will take more ..I added a h.o.b....Yep u could but i agree restriction is a problem..I have the wire grass in my overflow!mike whats the name...